West Coast Avengers #4

Name: West Coast Avengers #4
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jan 1986 · Marvel · 0.65 USD; 0.30 GBP; 0.75 CAD

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“Master Pandemonium!”

★ 1st appearance — Master Pandemonium

About this Issue

West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #4 (January 1986) introduces Master Pandemonium — the demonic Hollywood studio-head Martin Preston — marking the debut of the villain who would anchor Steve Englehart's long-running supernatural subplot about fragmented souls and Mephisto's influence over the team. The issue also gives Firebird her first substantive spotlight in the ongoing series, recounting her origin and her prior history with the Texas-based hero group the Rangers, threads that would fuel several subsequent story arcs. By weaving together street-level Avengers action (Hawkeye's persistent and repeatedly rejected pitch to recruit the Thing) with a creeping occult threat, Englehart established the tone of psychological complexity and serialized horror that distinguished this book from the flagship Avengers title.

writer Steve Englehart · artist Al Milgrom · artist, inker Joe Sinnott · colorist Ken Feduniewicz · letterer Janice Chiang · cover Al Milgrom, Joe Sinnott

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History

The ongoing West Coast Avengers series launched in October 1985, handed off from Roger Stern's four-issue 1984 limited series to writer Steve Englehart and penciler Al Milgrom with Joe Sinnott inking — a creative team that remained together for the bulk of Englehart's run. Mark Gruenwald served as editor under editor-in-chief James Shooter. Englehart designed Master Pandemonium from the ground up as an original creation for the series, building the character's demonic bargain with Mephisto into a slow-burn mystery about five scattered soul fragments — a long-form plot engine that would not be fully resolved for years. The issue's story title, 'Master Pandemonium!', was also used as the chapter heading in subsequent collected editions.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Master Pandemonium (Martin Preston), a former actor who made a Faustian deal with Mephisto and gained the power to transform his limbs into demons; created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Al Milgrom.
First appearance of Azmodeus, Master Pandemonium's demonic familiar bird, who appears alongside his master at the issue's close.
Written by Steve Englehart with pencils by Al Milgrom and inks by Joe Sinnott; edited by Mark Gruenwald under editor-in-chief James Shooter; published cover-dated January 1986.
The Thing (Ben Grimm) refuses Hawkeye's invitation to join the West Coast Avengers — a running gag that began in this issue and continued across subsequent chapters of the arc.
Firebird (Bonita Juárez) recounts her origin (extraterrestrial radiation in the New Mexico desert) and her earlier team-up with the Rangers against the Hulk and the Corruptor — a flashback referencing Incredible Hulk #265 (November 1981).
The Rangers — Night Rider (Hamilton Slade), Shooting Star (Victoria Star), Texas Twister (Drew Daniels), and Red Wolf (William Talltrees) — appear in flashback as Firebird's former allies, planting the seed for their subsequent confrontation with the West Coast Avengers.
Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is shown appearing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, an early depiction of his Hollywood celebrity status that became a recurring character beat throughout Englehart's run.
The issue and surrounding arc were collected in the Avengers: West Coast Avengers — Family Ties trade paperback and subsequently in the Avengers West Coast Omnibus hardcover editions.